Episode 4194: Recapping The Hegseth Hearing

Summary

Podcast Summary: Bannon’s War Room
Episode 4194: Recapping The Hegseth Hearing
Release Date: January 15, 2025

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Introduction

In Episode 4194 of Bannon’s War Room, host Stephen K. Bannon delves deep into the recent confirmation hearing of Pete Hegseth for the position of Secretary of Defense. The episode provides a comprehensive analysis of the hearing, incorporating insights from military experts, political commentators, and key supporters of Hegseth. Bannon navigates through the complexities of the hearing, highlighting the tensions between Republican nominees and Democratic interrogators, and explores the broader implications for national security and political dynamics within Washington.

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Recap of the Hegseth Confirmation Hearing

The episode opens with Stephen Bannon setting the stage for the discussion, emphasizing the stark contrast between Pete Hegseth and his predecessor, Jim Mattis. Bannon asserts that Hegseth's nomination represents a significant erosion of standards within the Pentagon.

Steve Bannon [00:00]: "To understand where we are. Vital context for what happened today at the confirmation hearing for a very different person, a man named Pete Hegseth who went before the Senate Armed Services Committee today."

Commentator Analysis

A key commentator provides a detailed breakdown of the hearing's outcomes and the political maneuvering involved.

Commentator 1 [00:41]: "And I think this is a new low. This is our new normal. But I also think the Democrats failed to score any knockout blows... The FBI report was not comprehensive."

The commentator critiques the Democratic approach, suggesting that while their attacks were persistent, they lacked substantial impact against Hegseth. He highlights the strategic importance of the Secretary of Defense position and the potential shifts in Pentagon culture under Hegseth's leadership.

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Sustainability of Partisan Concern

Bannon questions whether it is sustainable for only one political party to prioritize national security leadership roles.

Steve Bannon [01:13]: "Is it sustainable, though, to have only one party care?"

Strategic Importance of the Pentagon

Commentator 1 responds by emphasizing the Pentagon's pivotal role in national security and the broader implications of Hegseth's potential confirmation.

Commentator 1 [01:16]: "He knows that if he can take the Pentagon and he can shift culture there and he can block the rails and put his loyalists in, then everything else becomes easy."

This segment underscores the high stakes of the confirmation, portraying it as a battleground for broader political and military control.

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Colonel Mike Waltz’s Insights on the Warrior Ethos

One of the episode's highlights is the in-depth interview with Colonel Mike Waltz, the National Security Advisor. Waltz elaborates on the concept of the "Warrior Ethos" and its significance in modern military leadership.

Colonel Mike Waltz [08:30]: "Number one, that's what our soldiers, our sailors, our marines have been begging for and missing... When you have an Air Force academy that tells new cadets don't say mom and dad and that colorblind is offensive..."

Waltz criticizes current military policies that he believes dilute the effectiveness and readiness of the armed forces. He advocates for a return to standards that prioritize merit and combat readiness over diversity initiatives that, in his view, undermine operational efficiency.

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Support for Hegseth’s Performance

Colonel Waltz commends Hegseth's performance during the hearing, asserting that he handled personal attacks adeptly and maintained a strong stance throughout.

Colonel Mike Waltz [02:55]: "He conducted himself extremely well and made a strong argument for why he ought to be the next secretary of defense."

Waltz emphasizes the importance of Hegseth's military background and his ability to embody the warrior ethos that resonates with active-duty service members.

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Maureen Bannon’s Perspective on the Hearing

Maureen Bannon, a prominent supporter of Hegseth, provides her observations from attending the hearing. She echoes the sentiments of ineffective Democratic tactics and praises Hegseth's qualifications.

Maureen Bannon [19:00]: "It was truly an honor to be in that room in support of Pete Hegseth... a lot of them are false allegations."

Bannon highlights the lack of substantive policy questions from Democratic senators, pointing out that the focus remained on personal attacks rather than Hegseth’s strategic vision for the Department of Defense.

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The Role of Media and Public Perception

Colonel Waltz and Maureen Bannon discuss the influence of media narratives on public perception of military leadership appointments. They argue that mainstream media often misrepresents or exaggerates negative aspects to undermine worthy candidates like Hegseth.

Colonel Mike Waltz [12:13]: "It's the anonymous smear campaign that's been there since he was announced."

This critique underscores a broader frustration among conservative and military circles regarding media bias and its impact on national security appointments.

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Economic Discussions with Philip Patrick

The episode transitions to an economic segment featuring Philip Patrick, who discusses President Trump's proposals to restructure the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and address the national debt through "External Revenue Services."

Philip Patrick [36:42]: "External revenues are a good idea. That's ultimately how the government was financed for decades."

Patrick critiques the current internal taxation system, advocating for a shift towards generating revenue from external sources such as tariffs and fees on foreign investments. He argues that this approach could alleviate the burden on American taxpayers and reduce the national debt.

Bannon engages with Patrick on the feasibility and implications of this economic strategy, highlighting the potential for increased tariffs to address trade imbalances, particularly with China.

Steve Bannon [37:04]: "How is that a game changer?"

Patrick responds by emphasizing the protectionist benefits and the incentives it could create for domestic manufacturing.

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Closing Remarks and Future Outlook

As the episode concludes, Bannon reflects on the significance of the hearing and anticipates further intense confirmation hearings for other Republican nominees.

Steve Bannon [43:24]: "This is how it's going to go. Pam Bondi is going to be the same way... tomorrow, starting Wednesday and Thursday, there's going to be multiple going on..."

Bannon underscores the ongoing political battles in Washington, positioning the Trump administration as a force for substantial change against entrenched Democratic opposition. He also previews upcoming segments, including discussions on economic policies and their impact on the national landscape.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Steve Bannon [00:00]: "Vital context for what happened today at the confirmation hearing for a very different person, a man named Pete Hegseth..."

• Commentator 1 [00:41]: "This is a new low. This is our new normal... The FBI report was not comprehensive."

• Colonel Mike Waltz [08:30]: "When you have an Air Force academy that tells new cadets don't say mom and dad and that colorblind is offensive..."

• Maureen Bannon [19:00]: "It was truly an honor to be in that room in support of Pete Hegseth... a lot of them are false allegations."

• Philip Patrick [36:42]: "External revenues are a good idea. That's ultimately how the government was financed for decades."

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Conclusion

Episode 4194 of Bannon’s War Room offers a thorough examination of Pete Hegseth's confirmation hearing, blending political analysis with expert military insights. Through interviews with Colonel Mike Waltz and Maureen Bannon, the episode underscores the perceived disconnect between Democratic tactics and Republican objectives in shaping national defense leadership. Additionally, the economic discussions with Philip Patrick introduce alternative revenue strategies aimed at reducing national debt and shifting fiscal responsibilities. Overall, the episode paints a picture of a political landscape fraught with partisan conflict but also brimming with strategic initiatives poised to influence the future of American governance and military preparedness.

Transcript

[Steve Bannon]

And to understand where we are. Vital context for what happened today at the confirmation hearing for a very different person, a man named Pete Hegseth who went before the Senate Armed Services Committee today. Fox News Weekend host Pete Hegseth, to put it mildly, is no Jim Mattis. No, not even by Trump standards. If anything, the through line of Trump's picks to lead the Pentagon, from General.

[Maureen Bannon]

Jim Mattis to Mark Esper to Pete.

[Steve Bannon]

Hegseth, represents and perfectly encapsulates the complete erosion of standards that ironically, Pete Hegseth likes to complain about.

[Commentator 1]

And I think this is a new low. This is our new normal. But I also think the Democrats failed to score any knockout blows. They beat him up a little bit. Kane was effective, Gillibrand was effective, but a lot of it missed. And right now Hegseth is in good standing. But we've got a couple days left and I think in 2025, we have to be ready for anything to come out because the FBI report was not comprehensive. Didn't talk to his two ex wives, didn't talk to his accuser. And I think now comes that moment where there's kind of a race between the vote and whether or not anything else or anyone else will come out.

[Steve Bannon]

Is it sustainable, though, to have only one party care?

[Commentator 1]

No, no. And this is the most important position, in my view, in the Cabinet, and that's why Trump is leading with it. He knows that if he can take the Pentagon and he can shift culture there and he can block the rails and put his loyalists in, then everything else becomes easy. So it's obviously a defining point for the Republicans and for the Democrats, but I think for kind of two years we've been holding our breath on both of them and both of them have failed. So this is a true crisis for our democracy and most urgently for our national security. This nominee's sort of troubled past came in the opening statement by Senator Jack Reid, the military veteran himself. Been around Senate a long time, very reasonable, very objective. And it surfaced all the reasons why you could or should vote against this nomination. And it's a provocative nomination, by the way. Not half as provocative as the incoming Commander in Chief. Now, having said that, look, this guy is Princeton educated, he's smart, he's articulate, he does know a ton about national security issues as a commentator on tv. And he conducted himself very well in this four hour plus hearing, I think, to the point where all he needed was to lose one Republican senator and it would be killed in committee. And I think a lot of Republican senators probably Hoped that would happen. It didn't happen. This guy's going to get confirmed. You have not said much about the.

[Steve Bannon]

Headset, but now that he's in his hearing, do you have any concerns about these allegations from his past, the sexual.

[Colonel Mike Waltz]

Assault allegation, and if not, how quickly.

[Steve Bannon]

I think he's addressed those allegations. And I didn't see all of it. I saw pieces of it. But every report I've had, the readout from the hearing this morning is that he quitted himself extremely well and made a strong argument for why he ought to be the next secretary of defense. If he's reported out of the committee, we will work quickly to get him across the floor, obviously, because that is a key, critical, important national security position that needs to be filled. Do you think the strategy on both sides, which I think was pretty consistent, played out?

[Commentator 2]

Yeah, it was interesting. I was searching for what exactly the Democratic strategy was. I think they know as well as anybody that Joni Ernst is the key here. If Joni Ernst goes south on this nomination, it could spell trouble. If she backs him, I think it's very clear that he'll be the next secretary of defense. And they were clearly leaning in on that issue of women in the military. And the sort of problem for Democrats is he just readily conceded he's changed his views on this. He's changed his position. He no longer holds that view. And it made it hard for some of that to stick eventually. These hearings, they tend to devolve into a little bit of shirts and skins, and I think that actually works very well to Hegseth's favor. If Democrats are looking as though they are being performative and just trying to score points, frankly, against Donald Trump more than they are against Pete Hegseth, that makes it really easy for them to rally together and come together. I would be very surprised at this point if he is not the next secretary of defense. Joni Ernst definitely was not too confrontational with him, and that may be the whole ballgame here. There are still a few people off this committee we need to think about, but he performed extraordinarily well. Didn't back down, perhaps other than changing his position on women in the military. Didn't back down from a lot of the more confrontational questioning. And I think that's exactly what a lot of Republicans wanted to see today.

[Steve Bannon]

I mean, because I take your point about the performance of the Democrats today, but our system isn't set up for only the Democratic Party to care about who leads the United States military.

[Commentator 1]

I agree, but who are we holding out hope for here? I mean, Mark Wayne Mullen is not going to be the guy. Tom Cotton is not going to be the person. I do think that there's still a chance that Joni Ernst and Murkowski and Collins are keeping their powder dry. They're waiting to see if someone will come forward, if someone will come out publicly. I almost thought Kaine was going to present something after that. It felt like he was leading up to something new, but they don't have anything new. But I do think that Hegseth was also in part chosen to set the tone. Trump wants to show that he's going to try to run the table. He's going to push the Democrats. He's going to own the narrative. And this on this battle at least, I think the Democrats have lost.

[Mike Lindell]

This is the primal scream of a dying regime. Pray for our enemies because we're going.

[Steve Bannon]

Medieval on these people. Christians not got a free shot. All these networks lying about the people. The people have had a belly full of it.

[Mike Lindell]

I know you don't like hearing that.

[Colonel Mike Waltz]

I know you try to do everything.

[Steve Bannon]

In the world to stop that, but you're not going to stop it. It's going to happen.

[Commentator 1]

And where do people like that go.

[Steve Bannon]

To share the big lie? MAGA MEDIA I wish in my soul, I wish that any of these people had a conscience. Ask yourself, what is my task and what is my purpose? If that answer is to save my country, this country will be saved. War Room here's your host, Stephen K. Band. Tuesday, the 14th of January. Year of our Lord 2025. The days of thunder start off with a bang today. I want to thank Mike Cernovich. That at the end was Mike Cernovich's tweet. That was a great composition or consolidation of today. Democrats massive face plant. It's obvious from today they still don't quite get why they lost the harridans on the man. They got a lot of women on the Armed Services Committee. You notice that. Don't know if the women over there think that's a path to power or whatever, but there's a lot of women on the Armed Services Committee, Democratic senators, not that I have any problem with that, but they don't get why they lost. They're harping and harping on Pete Hegseth. Just one after the other made it so that even. That's General Barry McCaffrey. General McCaffrey is a hater. Hates Trump, hates Maga, hates Pete Hegseth. We were able to cut that kind of Tight right there. He starts off with all the bad things. Pete Hegseth, I don't know, misogynist, abuser, on and on, drunk, never run an organization, all this kind of litany, I think. And then he goes, oh, by the way, he's going to be. He's going to be. He's going to be. He's going to be approved. Is that, is that Colonel Waltz? I want to introduce Colonel Mike Waltz. Colonel Waltz, Green Beret. He's the national security advisor to the President of the United States. He's just stepped out of a meeting to join us and I'm going to talk to him for a minute while we get teed up his magnificent open. Colonel Walch, you mentioned today, and this was kind of the theme, the warrior ethos. Talk to me. What is the warrior ethos? Why did you, on your mark, start with that? And Pete kind of leaned into that during his, during his testimony. Can you walk us through it, sir?

[Colonel Mike Waltz]

Well, yeah. Number one, that's what our soldiers, our sailors, our marines have been begging for and missing. Number two, that's what Pete embodies. Number three, that's what our most importantly, that's what our enemies respect and fear. And we haven't had that. We don't, certainly don't see that exuding from the White House right now and we haven't seen it from the Pentagon. When you have a Pentagon that promotes, for example, West Point teaching, having a lecture how to understand your whiteness and white rage, when you have an Air Force academy that tells new cadets don't say mom and dad and that colorblind is offensive. Heck, when you even Steve, when you have a chief of staff of the Air Force that puts a memo out and says we need so many Hispanic females as pilots rather than just the best pilots, the best shooters, the best sailors that America can possibly have, we've got to get back to that. And that is in my mind what Pete Hegseth embodies. And that's why you've seen so much overwhelming support from the troops, from him, because they miss it and they join the military to kick indoors, jump out of planes, sail ships and fly fighter jets or be a cyber warrior. And I think the point that Pete very articulately made today was that his comments have been about standards. You either hit the standards to do the job or you don't. Your race, religion, socioeconomic background, whatever, doesn't matter. That's the military that we came up in. The military he's going to lead us back to under the Leadership of Donald J. Trump.

[Steve Bannon]

It seems that President Trump, with yourself, with Tulsi Gabbard, with Pete Hegses, many of the other picks, these are people who've actually fought in these wars, been frontline leaders of men and women in these wars. What message is President Trump trying to send us by the selection of you guys kind of as a group?

[Colonel Mike Waltz]

Well, look, those were the wars of our generation. And on the one hand, we've got the dust on our boots, as Pete said, we've got the dirt and the blood and the sweat and the tears in our fingernails. But we've also been downrange, Steve, to see the policy drift to be looking at our fellow squad mates, or in my case, you know, my fellow Green Berets and saying, who the hell thought this was a good idea? And that led to the tremendous cost in national treasure, in lives, in geopolitical positioning vis a vis China, that have led us now to where we have a hollowed out military that we've got to rebuild. We've got to get back to recruiting, to readiness and to lethality before it's too late. And now is the time for reform. And the point that I wanted to make today in my introduction is I looked at all those senators and said, you all know that you've been sitting here for hearing after hearing, you know, you know, for year after year, talking about everything that costs too much, takes too long and delivers too little at the cost of billions to the taxpayer. Enough is enough. Status quo is not acceptable. It's time for change. That's what President Trump knows and that's what Pete represents.

[Steve Bannon]

Last question. Colonel Waltz goes, you know, you're busy. You stepped out of a skiff to do this for us. We're thankful. The why did the Democrats having the one opportunity to question Pete Hex's and his confirmation, why did all the questions kind of just be attack questions? I didn't see one serious policy question the entire afternoon. Do you have any idea what drove that?

[Colonel Mike Waltz]

Yeah, it's just the, it's the anonymous smear campaign that's been there since, since he was announced. Schumer has said the quiet part out loud. Everybody go after Trump's nominees, no matter what you have to say or what it takes. And it's just, thank God for real fighters and warriors like Senator Mark Wayne Mullen, who called out the hypocrisy. Are you kidding me? You know how many politicians run around here and drink and cheat and don't behave and comport themselves that's worthy of of the trust of the American people have given us. And yet you're going to try to kind of throw that dirt at a nominee. And look, why so many veterans who are sitting in that audience identify with him is many of us do come back scarred from war. Many of us have to go through stuff to get to a better place. Pete embodies that, and I think they respect him for it. And it's, you know, who the troops want to see leading them into the charge of the 21st century.

[Steve Bannon]

Colonel, can we get your social media? People want to know that you're the senior National Security Adviser in the White House. You head the National Security Council for the president. People want to keep up with you. Can you give us your handle?

[Colonel Mike Waltz]

Yeah, sure. You can follow me at Michael G. Waltz across all the platforms and you're flashing up there a book, Hard Truths, Thinking Lead Like a Green Beret. I'm proud to say the proceeds go to a Gold Star family. And that's the painful lessons that I and people like Pete and others have learned in combat and how we're applying it to now to fighting the swamp. Steve and I got to tell you, sometimes the tribes of Washington, D.C. are a lot tougher than the tribes overseas. That's for sure, as you well know, and sometimes even more legal in the.

[Steve Bannon]

In the Ambar province. Colonel, thank you for stepping out. We're going to play your opening comments here later in the show. Thank you, sir. Appreciate you.

[Colonel Mike Waltz]

Thank you.

[Steve Bannon]

Colonel Mike Waltz, Green Beret Hard Truths is the book. He's the national Security advisor to the President of the United States. We're gonna take a short commercial break here. Somebody in the room. Colonel? Captain, I can't give her a field promotion. Captain Bennett is with us. Mo Bennett was there today. We got Philip Patrick a little later, hopefully. I think we got, we got Brother Devlin from the Daily Signal. He was over there. A lot going on today. Ben Berkhwam's gonna join us down in North Carolina. We're gonna see destruction there is not being taken care of. While California wants hundreds of billions of dollars in the bailout. Short commercial break. John Kahn lost his house in the Palisades. Short break. Back in a moment. I got American faith in America's heart.

[Mike Lindell]

Big victory on the 5th of November. Now the work can finally start on the big issues facing the country. One of the biggest is the national debt and the deficits that drive it. Hey, you think the country's broke? The country is broke. We're just printing money to keep this house of cards Going. The strategy remains the same for you. You got to diversify, diversify your savings. That's why buy gold from Birch Gold. So many things are out of your control, out of the President's control. It's important to have a safe haven for your savings. Birch Gold Group, my gold company, will help you convert an IRA or 401k into an IRA into physical gold. Let me repeat that. Convert your IRA or 401k into an IRA in physical gold. And the best news, it doesn't cost you a penny text band into 989-898. Get your free info kit. Plus right now through Black Friday, you receive a free 1 ounce Silver Eagle for every $5,000 you purchase. Let me repeat that. A free 1 ounce Silver Eagle for every 5,000 purchase. Protect your savings with Birch Gold text Bannon to 989-898 and claim your eligibility.

[Steve Bannon]

For your free silver today.

[Colonel Mike Waltz]

And look, I have no doubt that he is going to get the Pentagon back to its primary mission. Lethal readiness. That warrior ethos is what our enemies will respect. That warrior ethos is what our enemies will fear. And it's that warrior ethos that will keep the peace. And ladies and gentlemen, in my humble opinion, our military deserves better than it's getting. Our country faces a devastating recruitment crisis. Men and women are not volunteering to serve at the levels required. Our readiness is down. Our costs are up. And it seems like nearly every major weapon system again often discussed in this very room is costing too much, delivering too little and taking way too long. The bottom line is the status quo is unacceptable. It's not working.

[Steve Bannon]

Lethal readiness. Mike Waltz laid it out today. Pete Hegseth delivered a home run. He was relentlessly attacked. Waltz teed it up of what the problem is. We don't fight wars to win wars. You have the junior officers. You know, I made a bunch of films about the. In one big one on the, on the Iraq war, the last 600 meters, that talks right to the valor and courage of the tip of the tip of the spear. Some of the combat in Afghanistan, Iraq was as tough as we've seen since Vietnam, World War II, Korea, I mean ranked right up there. The officers and non commissioned officers that led that to me, it's a natural evolution to have them lead now. The Pentagon, the intelligence services, all of it. And you know, we have this massive recruiting problem. Why do we have a massive recruiting problem? Because the woke nature of the. Of the military. Yes, Pete Hegseth is a cultural warrior, but he's also a warrior embodying the warrior ethos. Captain Bannon, Maureen, you were there today, actually in support of Pete Hegseth. You were out there earlier and then you sat in. Tell me, put us in the room. Just give us your impression. Having sat in there, which is supposed to be a confirmation hearing, what I was shocked is that we didn't hear the Democrats the entire time. And we played the entire first round of questions on the morning show and didn't hear one significant real policy question from any of the Democrats. Just tearing at him on all these personal issues. So Mo, put us in the room. How was it?

[Maureen Bannon]

You're correct. It was truly an honor to be in that room in support of Pete Hegseth. And you're correct with regards to the Democrats. They honestly, the female Democrats on the Armed Services Committee were trying to outdo themselves one after the other on who could be the most unhinged with their line of questioning or lack thereof, because all they wanted to do was attack Pete Hegseth and mistakes that have been made in the past or even potential mistakes. You know, a lot of them are false allegations. However, they didn't have a lot of questions, like you said, about policy and what he's going to do as the head of the Department of Defense, as the SecDef. That's where their line of questioning should have been. We saw that from Republicans, Republicans, and a lot of them, you know, they asked him different questions regarding policy and even different questions regarding what it means to be a war fighter. And we saw just how strong and qualified Pete Hegseth is to be. The SEC Def by his answers to Republicans questions.

[Steve Bannon]

What is this whole thing about women in combat? I mean, you served, you went over to Iraq, you deployed, you know, during, I think it was 2010, 2011. What is this whole thing about this controversy? Women in combat, combat arms, what's the difference? Walk us through it.

[Maureen Bannon]

So the Democrats today, as we saw from the hearing, had a lot of questions regarding the comments that Pete Hegseth has made regarding women in combat. And they held onto women in combat. They claim that he doesn't want women to deploy. That is a false statement. Pete Hegseth would be in support and is in support of what I did when I deployed to Iraq. I was in combat, but I was a combat support position. I supported those on the front line. And that's what Pete Hegseth is saying when he makes that statement. He is saying that women should deploy, they should be in combat support. We should not be on the front lines and combat arms and I agree with Pete Hegseth in that statement.

[Steve Bannon]

Okay, but for a civilian audience, you have civilian affairs intel, I think you were logistics. You have the medical, not just the doctors, you have the medical support guys. Is that what you're talking about then? Combat arms, you have artillery, infantry, cavalry or the tanks. Is that what you're saying? Is that the difference, that the women he believes are not qualified to actually be in the combat arms part of it?

[Maureen Bannon]

That's correct. Those branches like armor, infantry, especially in the army where we are seeing that we are lowering standards in order for females to meet requirements to be in those specific branches. You know, when I deployed, like you said, I was a logistics officer, so. So I was combat support. I did a significant role in Iraq to make sure that those combat arms, infantry, you know, armor, had their bullets, their food and water so they could survive the things that they need to be successful in their missions. Combat support roles, such as logistics officers or logistics branches do those positions to make sure that those service members on the front lines can survive. Support, as in medics, that is a support position. Doctors, things like that, things that aren't infantry, armor, engineers, things of those natures, those are not combat arms.

[Steve Bannon]

Walk us through. Were you surprised by the intensity? I mean, we watch it here obviously on television and we really focus more on the Democrats. It was surprising how the women came after him, the female senators and also Senator Kaine. All of them did, but the females particularly, and I guess Senator Kaine also in the room. Did it feel that that intensity was that intensity coming through nonstop?

[Maureen Bannon]

It was. And it also, you know, a lot of the veterans in that room noticed how unhinged the Democrats became in their line of questioning. And it was six out of the seven females. You know, the last female senator wasn't as unhinged as the rest of them, but Senator Tim Kaine took the cake on that one. The fact that he brought an innocent seven year old child, indragged her into the hearing in his line of questioning is despicable. And justi believe he topped the females in his line of questioning.

[Steve Bannon]

Mo, what's your, what's your social media? I want you to hang around, by the way, because, oh, I know you gotta go, you gotta bounce. You're representing tonight. Mo's representing us tonight at a, at a dinner since I couldn't get back. Mo, what's your social media handle?

[Maureen Bannon]

You can follow me on Twitter MaureenBannon and also on Instagram reelmarinebannon. I was coming in very hot during the hearing on Twitter, but You'll have to do a little digging to find my tweets on Twitter right now because I might be being a little suppressed at the moment.

[Steve Bannon]

Oh, you think you're thinking of being suppressed over at Twitter? You fall into the Laura Loomer category.

[Maureen Bannon]

I believe some of my tweets are not appearing on people's feeds. I think that I'm not getting as many views on some of my tweets. Yes.

[Steve Bannon]

Okay. You always get ghetto and you're on the social media. Mo, thank you very much. Thank you for going over there today and for supporting Pete Hegseth. Good luck tonight at the dinner. Represent us well.

[Maureen Bannon]

Thank you.

[Steve Bannon]

Erik Prince and some of the other friends of the show having having a dinner tonight for the new incoming staff for President Trump. Mo Bannon and Natalie Winters are going to represent us over there. I couldn't make it back. Certain things came up. But did the Politico interview this morning. Okay. We got a lot to get through that we haven't had a chance to actually go through and look at some of the cuts of Pete Hegges. I'm going to save that for a little later. Let me say. I, it was everything I expected. I want folks to kind of wake up with this and understand that this is just their first day. This is President Trump's Days of Thunders. And Pete Hegseth was magnificent. There's no doubt to me, and particularly when a guy like Barry McCaffrey, who's a true hater, when General McCaffrey says, hey, Pete Hexit is going to get. He's going to get confirmed. You know, you can take that to the bank very much unless they come up with some new wit and somebody can come forward. They shot down the. They shot him down already for. They shot him down for actually having a second day or a second round. And I thought that that was very, very, very impressive. So what you saw today was the Armed Services Committee, I guess they kind of adjourned to not adjourn. They're going to see if there's anything else they need to come back. I think they're working that through. But Pete Hegsett was absolutely magnificent today and represented well, represented President Trump well, the administration, all of it. We've got a lot of things to go through. I was at Politico this morning, gave an interview. We want to break that down, particularly the economic parts of it. Philip Patrick is going to join us. Still a revolt in the bond market. We're going to talk about gold as an alternative here and also what it means for the biggest event that President Trump has, and that's getting through these budgets, getting through the spending bills, getting through everything he wants to do, the tax cuts. That's still the beating heart of his peace and prosperity mission. We're going to go through with Philip Patrick with that. And then we've got a lot more. I want to break down the Pete Hexeth because I think in Pete Hexseth and breaking it down and talking about the line of attack, you'll get to understand how what's going to happen in the next couple of days, have more intense hearings tomorrow. Well, I don't know if anything will be as intense as Pete's because that was just pure personal attack for hour after hour after hour. We do. We are going to have a lot more confirmation hearings this week. There will be some. That's pretty intense. Bobby Kennedy is going to be up. Pam Bondi's got two days already. I think schedule. Scott Bessant's going to be up. It's going to be quite, quite, quite intense. We're going to take a short commercial break here. Birchgold.com promo code war room Bannon. Go there and check it out. The end of the dollar empire. Talk about ideas that are not thought through and not really presented to the American people. Modern monetary theory, the idea that broke the world. When the Margin call comes, make sure you fully understand why it's gonna come, why it's coming, because then and only then can you think through what your alternatives are. Get your phone out, Bannon. B A N N O N. It's 989-898. Do it today. Short break. Philip Patrick. Next.

[Mike Lindell]

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[Steve Bannon]

The drivers I would love to see in the executive orders to set up an external revenue service that we wouldn't just look at tariffs, but because terrorists paid for everything up until the early 20th century. But you wouldn't just look at tariffs, you look at everything about how you can charge fees, essentially, whether that's on investment, whether that's on other things of access to this country. This is, this is America's behind the golden door, okay? In this market's the most robust, lucrative market in the world. And we shouldn't just let people have access, we shouldn't let foreigners have access to this market and to the American people and American citizens for free. So I think I would love to see something that set up an external revenue service in treasury that eventually took the burden off people on Internal Revenue Services. No reason the American people, American corporations, even the donor class has to pay for everything. And I think we have to rethink that. Okay, that's this morning. I want to thank the Politico people that, that had me in today, Dasha Burns and the team that had us over there today to basically talk hooked up by Skype. It was, it was great, very great. Questions gave the responses got a little traction. This the External Revenue Service. You heard that over the weekend. We had John Gardner here. This is this concept that, you know, up to the 19, up to the early 20th century and really the earthquake in San Francisco and then the great fire that burned San Francisco essentially to the ground. You had the financial panic that came after that, and JP Morgan and others had to step in, but principally JP Morgan kind of set right the bond market and the stock market essentially saved the country from look like a kind of a default. After that, they went to an internal kind of, you know, tariffs up at that time had paid for people trying to get into the products, into the country. After that, they set up an Internal Revenue Service. And so the question President Trump's asking, hey, why is everything on the shoulders of the American people, corporations, LLCs, the American people individually? Why is the whole burden for paying everything on them? Maybe think of terrorist more broadly as a maximization of external revenues. This is the most lucrative market in the world and the Chinese Communist Party and so many other people get in here and get for free. Look, I'm quite opposed or not enthusiastic, let's say maybe put a nicer face on it. On really foreign capital coming into the country to invest in the country right now, I actually think we'll take a hiatus on that, take a hiatus on at least a moratorium, you know, shortly on all types of immigration until we work out what these visa programs are and what they really are benefiting and how they're, how they're helping the American citizen. Everything's got to be in back of help taking the country forward, taking the American citizens forward. And so I think you need to take a kind of a rethink of all that. President Trump, I think, afterwards, can you, can you put that up, put out a true social announcing, he's going to set up an external revenue service that focuses on maximizing revenues coming into this country or people trying to get access to this country. I think you can think of this broadly. I even think in buying stocks and bonds, I believe you can charge a premium. Because, listen, the reason the liquidity that our markets are so liquid, people want to put money into the United States, why the investments are safer than anywhere else in the world. And if you're starting the kinetic part of the Third World War and the Eurasian landmass and the rest of the markets are in turmoil all over the place. If you want to invest here, if you want to get access to this market with products or services, it seems to me you should pay a toll for that. You should pay a toll for that. And that's how we start to kind of underwrite a lot of the spending that goes on in this country. It's just a thought, but hey, we used to do it from the time before the revolution all the way up to the early 20th century. Everything we kind of paid for came externally, right? Came externally. That whole concept of internal revenue was a 20th century, early 20th century kind of line of thinking. So I now think President Trump's broadened it out. PHILIP and team on the first section, I don't have my journal in front of me, but section B1 today, a huge article, PHILIP Patrick about, wait for it, the global bond market is surging. Why when President Trump is sitting up now thinking about this economic plan and you've had Janet Yellen, you had the Lords of Easy Money on Wall street, you've had the Fed. Why now, when he's sitting here looking put forward this plan, why is all of a sudden the bond market, the bond market surging, which as everyone knows that watches the show, going to make it much more difficult for President Trump to actually enact his plan?

[Philip Patrick]

PHILIP PATRICK I mean, it certainly is government Bond yields are increasing significantly and it's not just here in the United States. It's happening worldwide and it's affecting markets around the world, especially countries obviously with higher debt levels like we have here in the United States. What happens is the increase in yields makes borrowing more expensive. And despite central bank's efforts to lower short term interest rates, debt levels are skyrocketing. That's going to work against President Trump's plan. Right? We've got strong employment data that came out of the Federal Reserve, which means higher for longer in terms of interest rates. With bond, with bond yields being higher, with debt service being higher, it's going to add to the problem, it's going to add to deficit spending. And it's just making the job a lot more difficult for President Trump to grow the economy out of the mess that we're in currently.

[Steve Bannon]

You've been with us now for, I think, three years. We've talked about this. And one of the things in the Biden, under the Biden regime, with these massive commitments of spending, and I mean massive, the Recovery act, the all these infrastructure acts, he had massive mass, I mean, trillions of dollars. But the deficits kept building because the mindset was still this kind of internal revenue tax rates, you know, going to charge on maybe financial transactions, all types of different ways to tax people, to increase taxes on corporations, to increase taxes on people. The Democrats have been yammering about increasing taxes on the wealthy, which I don't mind if they, if they don't put their shoulder to the wheel to bring down spending. But President Trump today kind of came in back of, and has put up now this concept of external revenues that kind of go back to the old days when we fully financed everything from fees, tariffs, coming from outside the country. In addition, you actually think of doing it to financial transactions. How is that a game changer? My phone's been blowing up all day. Of people that really have followed. And some of the writers and economists that are all over the trade issues, all over the tariff issues are saying, gosh, we're really putting 25% on Canadian goods coming in. Why is this a game changer for President Trump saying, hey, we just don't need to look for people in the United States to pay for everything. The Internal Revenue Service, let's just change the thing. It's like, it's almost like, let's look at Greenland, right? This is the economic equivalent of it. Your thoughts, Philip?

[Philip Patrick]

Patrick, the reality is we have to do something, right? We're not going to fix the problem here in the US by raising taxes. And I think external revenues are a good idea. That's ultimately how the government was financed for decade. But what it does do is ultimately it penalizes global trade.

[Steve Bannon]

Right.

[Philip Patrick]

We went from a protectionist nation to a free trade nation. And I think we're starting to feel the effects of that with huge trade imbalances around the world. So we need to start protecting the domestic economy. And I think tariffs will be a way to start doing that. Ultimately, they're going to incentivize manufacturing here in the United States. You know, short term benefit for long term cost is how we've been doing things. And I think it's time to turn it on its head. Look, you know, Trump's policies are. It's like adding eight shots of espresso to an economy. There is a lot of changes on the horizon, but they're necessary and ultimately they can work.

[Steve Bannon]

Talk to me about, you know, you just talked about trade balances. I think we hit a record in November as over $110 billion or something. Just with China is that. Because the one way to look at it is that they know tariffs are coming and so they try to front run this and get in front of it. And people even try to get in front of it. Although folks in 18 and 19 prices did not go up at all. And we had the strictest, I think, tariff regime that we've ever had against China. Is this big trade deficit now that people are just more comfortable with Chinese goods? Or is there something about the tariffs that got them to front runner before the. Before really, or I guess during the Christmas season?

[Philip Patrick]

Yeah, I think it's probably a combination. At the end of the day, people that have close ties with China are now stocking up on inventory, expecting tariffs on the horizon. We have China as well looking at new trade partnerships. They know that it's going to be a little bit more difficult with President Trump in the White House and they're expanding trade partnerships. But China right now are in a real mess. Tariffs will affect them significantly. For every dollar that we gain from Chinese tariffs, China lost $3. And that's exactly what we're trying to do. We're trying to focus on the domestic economy and address trade imbalances. But listen, we have to do something. Like I said, this economy needs an injection. And I think President Trump is the man to do it. And I think we don't have to look that far. Look at what Milei has achieved in Argentina in such a short space of time. He cut Government spending significantly gutted useless government departments. And for the first time in over a century, Argentina now have a surplus. So, you know, the people are suffering shorter term, but longer term, the economy is looking much healthier. We need that same aggressive move today for the US Economy because we're at the point of no return.

[Steve Bannon]

Walk me through. How do people now more than ever, how they get access to you? How they get access? We try to do the macro every day or every couple of days, but you guys can actually talk to the micro people and to get them look at, they can get comfortable with precious metals as an alternative investment and as a hedge against inflation and turbulent times. How do people do that? What's the easiest way?

[Philip Patrick]

It's very simple. Birchgold.com Bannon birchgold.com Bannon for those who prefer text, it's Bannon to 989-898. That simple.

[Steve Bannon]

And you get access to all the information, all the free information. Make sure you understand about the modern monetary theory. That's one you definitely ought to understand. And you can get in touch with Philip Patrick and his team. Philip, I think Days of Thunder started today with Pete Hegseth, kind of the preamble. It really kicks off next Monday when President Trump's probably going to sign, I don't know, 50 executive orders just to kick things off. It's going to be pretty wild. This audience is ready and they're ready to talk to you guys. So I really want to thank you guys for having our back here and helping us with the all the free installments so people can understand macroeconomics.

[Philip Patrick]

Sir, thank you so much. It's an honor to be with you, Steve. Thank you.

[Steve Bannon]

Thank you, brother. Make sure you go to Birchgold. I think it's now more than ever. First off, I want you to read all the, it's not a textbook because we've made it very, very accessible. But read all five free installments and particularly read the latest one, Modern Monetary Theory. You know, it always shocks me and this is one of the things we try to do in war room all the time to make sure that you guys are ahead of the curve, whether it's transhumanism or pandemic or in this case, global capital markets. And really the concepts of back of it. This idea of modern monetary theory, it may be new to a lot of folks that haven't watched the show for a while, but it's a pretty radical idea down to its essence, is that deficits don't matter. You can have massive deficit spending for years and years and years. And if inflation ever gets up, you can just all sudden increase taxes across the board and it'll take care of it. That's kind of it in a nutshell. Not perfect, but that's the general gist of it. Of course, it's a fallacy, but Wall street, the federal government, both political parties kind of believed it. These massive deficits led to this huge debt, $36 trillion, adding, I don't know, trillion dollars every hundred days. That is what's narrowed the range of what President Trump has to do. He doesn't have unlimited, doesn't have a broad spectrum of alternatives. This is why this whole thing about one versus two reconciliation bills, about, you know, these people's taxes going to increase, are these people people's taxes going to be cut? Are corporate taxes going to be increased or corporate taxes going to be cut? How big a deficit can we have? Is Doge going to get in there and do work that takes cost to deconstruct the administrative state, to take cost away today, or is it going to be down road 5, 6, 7, 8 years? These are the questions today, and this are free installments with Birch Gold about debt and deficits. Gold standard what Richard Nixon did, President Nixon did and President now. Modern monetary theory get up to speed. So many of the Bates we're going to have going forward is going to be bracketed by how you pay for it. Short Commercial break Back in the war room on a day of thunder in the nation's capital. Back in a moment. We will fight till they're all gone. We rejoice when there's no more. Let's take down the ccp.

[Mike Lindell]

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[Steve Bannon]

Here's your host, Stephen K. Ban. Okay, Days of Thunder. Do we have, has Denver gotten the, our logo for that yet? If, if, I think, if Noah can get it to you guys, I think it finally signed off on it. So next Monday is the official kind of kickoff of Days of Thunder. That's President Trump. I think it's bigger than shock and all. It's going to really, I think, surprise people. I said today in the Politico that it's going to be to the power of 10, as intense as it was, as it was in 2017, because now they've had a lot longer to work on. You got these teams who've been working together for a long time. They're really going to hit the. There we are right there. That's the, that's the Politico headline for the interview this morning. Very thankful of the political people to have me over there was very nice. Dasha was fantastic. Really great questions, tough questions. But this week is going to kind of be the preamble to that. And you saw today. So don't think the Democrats have learned anything from their defeat. They have not. They've become more bitter, they've become more recalcitrant. You know, we had Rob Bluey on the founder of Daily Signal yesterday with this poll they did that said 50% of the administrative state and 50 of the deep state employees at a senior executive level and executive level are going to resist President Trump and his administration as they come in and try to make some changes, turn this country around. American people are saying it two thirds, 1/3, 2/3 still think the country's on the wrong track. President Trump's going to try to turn that around. He's got a team there of agents of change. You saw Pete Hegseth today and wasn't Pete Hegseth. And he's flat out just magnificent. Bravo Zulu, Pete. I have never seen that type of intensity focused on anybody in a hearing. They just came off the chain, particularly these female Democratic senators. They were just attack, attack, attack. There was no enlightenment at all for what Pete's going to do as secretary of defense. No enlightenment at all for really what his policies are going to be. It was just personal attack after personal attack after personal attack. But this is how it's going to go. Pam Bondi is going to be the same way. Kash Patel's going to be the same way. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Is going to be the same way. You're going to see the plus Kristi Noem, you're going to see attack after attack after attack. Now, we're going to figure out how to juggle because tomorrow, starting Wednesday and Thursday, there's going to be multiple going on at the same time. Obviously, some will be less intense, but still, their whole mode is not to really be advice and consent, which the Constitution says. Their whole mode is attack, attack, attack. And what I'm really proud of is with real America's voice, we played this kind of uninterrupted today. We didn't take any commercial breaks in the first two hours of the show. I really want to thank Rob Sig for doing that because I thought it was very important not to have any break to seed in continuity. And we really focused just on the Democrats so that you could see the intensity of, let's be blunt, their hatred, their hatred of Pete Hegseth, their hatred of the warrior ethos. They hate the hatred of what they. What Pete Hegseth stands for, right? The MAGA movement. President Trump, it all kind of came out. I thought it was very important today because today's really the first day of kicking off, getting things done. Remember, we talked about the three things that, you know, the beginning of the Third World War, the kinetic part, President Trump's got to take off, and then it's got to be the deportation, securing the border, deportation of the 15 million illegal alien invaders, other things to do with immigration. A lot of that'll be executive orders. The one in the middle that's the most important, right, the one that's existential, is how you handle the deficits, the financing of it, this massive debt that we have, how do you actually handle that? And then you got three ways to do. You've got the executive orders, you have your team led by your cabinet officers, plus legislation. The executive orders, a lot of them have been done and gone through LLC. I hope they have up to 50 next week. But this is when the days of thunder really start, when President Trump takes his hand off the King James Bible and gives his address and then immediately kind of goes to work. It's kind of a big signing ceremony in the afternoon at the, at the White House. We're going to cover this wall to wall next week. In fact, from now all the way through Inauguration Day, real America's Voice, we're going to be up talking about this and all the different shows. You're going to get a ringside seat to everything that's that's happening. Mike Lindell joins us. Mike, as good a buddy, you know, Pete Hegseth, well, you're very, you're one of the biggest supporters of President Trump and the MAGA movement, one of the leaders of the MAGA movement. You're too busy today dealing with all the issues you're dealing with at Mypilla even to watch a second of it. Tell us what's going on in my pillow that's taken the total concentration of Mike Lindell.

[H]

Well, a couple things. But one is our big audit. The IRS has come after my pillow. The or the attorney general Keith Ellison in Minnesota, he's came after our charities, our Lindale Recovery Network. So I spend all day with the lawyers going through and accountants going through stacks of stuff they want to just attack before. What have they got two weeks left here? It seems like that they, they're just doing one last let's shut Mike Lindell up. And it's not working, Steve. I'm louder than ever. Okay. And, and we've been, we've been another thing we've been doing today is we're making new commercials. We've got the new product. We've got our crosses. My crosses I designed on Made in the usa. This is the women's one here. That's reversible. And you got the, it's reversible and adjustable. We've got the crosses came in. So we're doing commercials for that. But remember, we put it for a special for the War room posse exclusive, 30% off on the crosses. And then you guys, I wanted to get on. I know because the hearing today that I couldn't couldn't get on this morning. But I wanted to tell you this is the last few hours for the flannel sheets. I know the war room loves the flannel sheets. The flannel sheets, the queen size 59.98, king size 69.98. This is a war room exclusive. This is it, everybody. I just want to get on here and tell you that as low as 44.98 for the Twins, but all the colors there that are there. This is it. Go to the war room site, the MyPillow. Scroll down till you see Steve and click on that. This is the war rooms exclusive here with promo code. War room. There's the microses. Check them out. Right next to that, the flannel sheets. And then we have that clearance event. That's all our sleepwear for the winter, all that stuff. You guys check it out. It's still winter. It's plenty cold. All the MyPillow clothing, everything is over there. That's a War Room exclusive. All the new the towels are in. We've got the classic collection still on sale for the War Room posse. And then the MyPillow 2.0 at the 749 that you see right there. And don't forget, get yourself we've left those on sale, the beds, the mattress topper. STEVE and so it's what I do, spend all day working on products and commercials and working on defending myself against this corruption administration. That's leaving.

[Steve Bannon]

MIKE we'll see it. They're leaving shrouded in in not glory, let's say that. Mike Lindell, we'll see you tomorrow morning in the 10am hour. Thank you, brother.

[Mike Lindell]

Appreciate you.

[Steve Bannon]

Philip Kaufman's masterpiece, the film the Right Stuff off another masterpiece, the Book by Tom Wolf. Short commercial break we'll be back for the second hour of the afternoon show of the War Room in just a moment.

[Mike Lindell]

I want to warn you of a huge change that could be coming to our money in our bank accounts. First, think back to 9 11, shortly after the government pushed through the Patriot Act. This gave the government power to spy on innocent Americans by monitoring our phone and email and tracking our movement across the Internet. Now Jim Rickards, editor of the independent financial newsletter Strategic Intelligence and New York Times best selling author, is warning about a coming event that could elevate this governmental surveillance to a terrifying new level. In fact, some of the guests I've had on the War Room believe that the government will soon expand their powers to track our every move. If we say the wrong things on social media, donate to the wrong causes, buy firearms or even vote maga, the government may be able to shut us out of our bank accounts. I can't say for sure if this will happen, but it's an interesting and dire warning. Fortunately, Jim Rickards, an American patriot and friend of mine, has made it his mission to educate us on what he believes is coming and how to protect yourself from the possibility of programmable money. Watch Jim's warning video now before it's censored like I've been in the past. Go to rickards war room.com that's rickardswarroom.com now to see the video.

[Steve Bannon]

Sacred Human really trying to fill this gap of quality supplements and of course the beef liver being our flagship products. For those who don't know, beef liver is loaded with highly bioavailable ingredients such as vitamin A, B12, zinc, CoQ10, etc. And because it is 100% grass fed and natural, your body is able to absorb these nutrients far better than taking any other synthetic multivitamin or any other synthetic vitamin in general.

[Commentator 2]

So we have some other amazing products.

[Steve Bannon]

But if you'd like to check us.

[Commentator 2]

Out, you can go to sacredhumanhealth.com and.

[Steve Bannon]

Cheers to your health.

[Mike Lindell]

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[Steve Bannon]

Check it out.